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Home prices start to lag

Excluding the recession year 2009, the Housing Price Index's April performance is tied for the smallest increase in 17 years for that month.

The modesty of the gain can be chalked up to the indexes for Vancouver and Toronto, which were both flat from the month before; Vancouver saw a 4.8 per cent increase compared to its 5.3 per cent rise in March, while Toronto saw a 7.3 per cent increase compared to its 7.6 per cent rise in March.

Prices were up, however, in Winnipeg (1.9 per cent), Quebec City (1.7 per cent), Montreal (one per cent), Halifax (0.7 per cent), Edmonton (0.6 per cent) and Calgary (0.2 per cent).

Prices were down in Ottawa-Gatineau (−0.7 per cent), Victoria (−0.2 per cent) and Hamilton (−0.1 percent).

Ottawa-Gatineau’s correction has been the sharpest, a cumulative 6.1 per cent over the last eight months.

And with prices at their highest since January 2008, it is clear that the oil price collapse has not affected Edmonton house prices to the same extent than in Calgary.

Teranet-National Bank also reported that the composite price index rose by 4.4 per cent year-over-year, though it was a deceleration from March 2015.

The 12-month gain was above the countrywide average in Hamilton (7.6 per cent), Toronto (7.3 per cent), Vancouver (4.8 per cent) and Edmonton (4.7 per cent).

It lagged the average in Victoria (4.2 per cent), Quebec City (3.7 per cent), Calgary (three per cent), Halifax (1.2 per cent), Winnipeg (0.5 per cent) and Montreal (0.4 per cent).

In Ottawa-Gatineau, prices were down 2.3 per cent from a year earlier.